-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- People living in the Falkland Islands are voting in a referendum on their political status on Sunday and Monday at a time of heightened tensions between Argentina and Britain over their sovereignty .

The two countries went to war over the territory , known to the Argentinians as Las Malvinas , in 1982 after the then-military government in Argentina landed troops on the islands .

According to the Falklands legislative assembly , the vote is intended to affirm islanders ' desire to remain a self-governing territory of the United Kingdom and to reject claims of ownership by Argentina .

The question put to voters is : `` Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom ? ''

The two-day referendum is supported by the British government .

But the Argentinian Embassy in London said in a statement Friday that the referendum had no legitimacy , characterizing it as `` a further attempt by the British to manipulate the question of the Malvinas Islands . ''

Because the area around the Falklands is the subject of a sovereignty dispute , it argues , `` the United Kingdom has no right to alter the legal status of these territories , not even under the guise of a hypothetical ` referendum . ' ''

Argentina 's president condemns ` colonial rule '

In January , Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner wrote an open letter , published in the UK press , in which she called on Britain to hand back the islands and accused it of blatant colonialism .

`` The Argentines on the Islands were expelled by the Royal Navy and the United Kingdom subsequently began a population implantation process similar to that applied to other territories under colonial rule , '' she wrote .

`` Since then , Britain , the colonial power , has refused to return the territories to the Argentine Republic , thus preventing it from restoring its territorial integrity . ''

She cited a 1965 U.N. resolution inviting the two countries to negotiate a solution to the sovereignty dispute and has called on the British to abide by the resolution .

The British government rejected Fernandez 's call for negotiations , saying the Falkland Island residents have chosen to be British and `` have a right to self-determination as enshrined in the U.N. Charter . ''

The January statement added : `` There are three parties to this debate , not just two as Argentina likes to pretend . The islanders ca n't just be written out of history .

`` As such , there can be no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falklands Islands unless and until such time as the islanders so wish . ''

The British government accuses Buenos Aires of trying to `` coerce '' the Falkland Island residents into becoming part of Argentina through intimidation of those involved in fishing and oil exploration , and efforts to isolate the remote islands even further by limiting access by sea .

Long desired for its natural resources

Located in the South Atlantic Ocean , about 480 kilometers -LRB- 298 miles -RRB- east of the tip of South America , the Falklands have long been coveted as a strategic shipping stopover and potential wellspring of natural resources , including lucrative fisheries and a growing oil drilling industry .

The islands , which raise their own taxes but rely on the United Kingdom for defense and foreign policy , are one of 14 British Overseas Territories and have been under British rule since 1833 .

More than 2,500 people from more than 60 nations live and work there , according to the islands ' government website , as well as forces stationed at the British military 's Mount Pleasant Complex . Many Falkland Island residents are of British origin .

War broke out over the territory in 1982 , when the then-Argentinian military government landed troops on the islands . Argentina put its death toll from the conflict at around 645 . Britain 's civil and military losses amounted to 255 .

On its official website , the Falklands government rejects as false the Argentinian government claim that a civilian population was expelled by Britain in 1833 and argues for the inhabitants ' right to choose their path .

`` The people expelled were an illegal Argentine military garrison , who had arrived three months earlier , '' it says . `` The civilian population in the Islands , who had sought permission from Britain to live there , were invited to stay . All but two of them , with their partners , did so .

`` We are not an implanted population . Our community has been formed through voluntary immigration and settlement over the course of nearly two hundred years . ... We are no more an implanted population than are the various populations of South America whose ancestors arrived as immigrants from Europe -- we arrived here as part of the same process and pattern of migration . ''

The islands are economically self-sufficient , the government says , except for the cost of defense needed as a result of `` the claim made by an aggressive neighbour . ''

`` The Falkland Islanders are a peaceful , hard-working and resilient people . Our society is thriving and forward-looking . All we ask is to be left in peace to choose our own future , and responsibly develop our home for our children and generations to come , '' the government says .

UK newspaper hits back over Argentinian claim to Falklands

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Falkland Island residents are voting on whether to remain a British Overseas Territory

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Argentina , which knows the islands as Las Malvinas , disputes British sovereignty

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The UK government says the islanders have a right to self-determination

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Britain and Argentina went to war over the South Atlantic territory in 1982